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Zhuchengtyrannus
Zhuchengtyrannus (meaning "Zhucheng tyrant") is an extinct genus of carnivorous theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous period. It is a species of tyrannosaurid which lived during the Late Cretaceous period in what is now Zhucheng, Shandong Province of China. It is known from a maxilla and associated dentary (lower jaw with teeth) recovered from the Wangshi Group, dating to about 73 million years ago. It measured about 11 m (36 ft) in length and 4 metres (13 ft) in height. The dentary is only slightly smaller than some of the largest known Tyrannosaurus rex jawbones,but significantly smaller than the corresponding bones of the huge Tyrannosaurus fossil "Sue".The dinosaur was found in an area that was a floodplain in the Cretaceous period and which contains one of the highest concentrations of dinosaur bones in the world. Classification and naming Zhuchengtyrannus was first named by David W. E. Hone, Kebai Wang, Corwin Sullivan, Xijin Zhao, Shuqing Chen, Dunjin Li, Shuan Ji, Qiang Ji and Xing Xu in 2011 and the type species is Zhuchengtyrannus magnus. The generic name is derived from the word Zhucheng which refers to the type locality, and tyrant. The specific name'' magnus'' meaning "great" in Latin refers to the relatively large size of Zhuchengtyrannus. It is possible that several isolated teeth from the same quarry, previously given the name Tyrannosaurus zhuchengensis, belong to this or a related species. The T. zhuchengensis teeth are characterized by serrations which extend all the way to the base of the tooth crown, a feature not seen in any other tyrannosaurine species. All known teeth of Zhuchengtyrannus are too poorly preserved in this area to compare with T. zhuchengensis, but further finds may clarify their relationship. Description Zhuchengtyrannus was a large carnivorous theropod, and the holotype has been estimated to have been 10–12 m (33–39 ft) in length and up to 6 short tons (5.4 t) in weight. The holotype dentary is slightly smaller than that of most specimens of Tyrannosaurus rex and slightly bigger than most of Tarbosaurus bataar, but significantly smaller than the corresponding bones of one of the largest Tyrannosaurus specimen ("Sue"). Zhuchengtyrannus can be distinguished from all other tyrannosaurines by a single autapomorphy, the presence of a horizontal shelf on the lateral surface of the base of the ascending process of the maxilla, and a rounded notch in the anterior margin of the maxillary fenestra. Zhuchengtyrannus also possesses a ventral margin of the antorbital fenestra that lies well above that of the ventral rim of the antorbital fossa. Additionally, the total length of the maxillary fenestra is more than half the distance between the anterior margins of the antorbital fossa and fenestra. Unlike the contemporaneous Tarbosaurus, Zhuchengtyrannus lacks a subcutaneous flange on the posterodorsal part of the jugal ramus of the maxilla, and a ventrally convex palatal shelf that covers the bulges of the roots of the rear teeth in medial view. In the Media *Zhuchengtyrannus Makes its first media appearance in Adventures Of Dinosaurs - Ceratops Part 1 while fighting a Sinoceratops. *Zhuchengtyrannus also appeared in The Dino King 2: Journey to fire mountain. Gallery Zhuchengtyrannus/Gallery Category:Coelurosaurs Category:Tyrannosaurs Category:Tyrannosaurids Category:Cretaceous extinctions Category:Fossil taxa described in 2011 Category:Extinct animals of China Category:Dinosaurs of China Category:Dinosaurs of Asia